Faith Lutheran Preschool Parent Handbook 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR A ministry of Faith Community Lutheran Church 10405 Griffith Peak Drive Las Vegas, NV 89135 1 Faith Lutheran Preschool 10405 Griffith Peak Drive Las Vegas, NV 89135 702.921.2727 Dear Family, Thank you for choosing Faith Lutheran Preschool, a ministry of Faith Community Lutheran Church. We hope you and your child enjoy the early years with us. Enclosed you will find a family handbook that will answer most of your questions and be a resource for you regarding our philosophy, goals and operating procedures. Read through the handbook and keep it available throughout the year for reference. Also keep in mind that information contained in the Parent Handbook is subject to change. Please check bulletin boards, newsletters, our app and emails for changes or additions. Please feel free to ask questions of the Preschool staff at any time. Faith Lutheran Preschool believes that each child is a unique and special gift from God. We consider the needs of the whole family while developing an appropriate program for children to grow. Faith Lutheran Preschool’s Pillars: 1) Fostering relations with family and communities 2) Love God and others 3) Play based, age-appropriate program Thank you again and Welcome! 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Air fresheners 16 Allergies 13 Arrival procedures 8 Art work 11 Birthdays 12 Calendar 16 Chemical Air Fresheners 16 Child abuse 14 Child Assessments 9 Cleanliness 13 Clothing 11 Communication 10 Confidentiality 8 Core beliefs 6 Curriculum 10 Departure procedures 8 Dress 12 Emergency authorization 13 Emergency procedures 14 Enrollment information 7 Family involvement 9 Financial arrangements 8 Guidance / discipline 15 Grievance procedure 16 Health 13 Illness 13 Infant/Toddler procedures 17 Items from home 11 Lunch 12 Medications 14 Mission Statement 4 Naps 12 Non-discrimination 7 Nutrition 12 Parent Handbook receipt 18 Parent support 9 Parent/teacher conferences 9 Permission to transport 15 Pesticides 16 Play 4,5 Questions 16 Services offered 7 Signing in and out 8 Smoking 16 Sunscreen 14 Teacher requests 7 Toilet trained 12 3 Faith Community Lutheran Church & Schools’ Mission: “Inviting People to Know Jesus” Faith Lutheran Preschool (FLP) Mission: Planting seeds of faith and knowledge; Nurturing young children in Christ’s love to bear fruit for eternity. Pillar #1: We “foster relations” when we: • Consider the needs of the whole family and provide support through education, interaction and communication. • Provide meaningful content that builds ideas about our community, relationships, family and culture. Pillar #2: We “love God and others” when we: • Implement our Biblically-based curriculum that promotes the growth of children into a relationship with Jesus and encourages them to share the Good news of forgiveness and salvation to all people. • Show Christ’s love and guidance in all areas of living in accordance with God’s word. • Provide children, families and staff opportunities to support our local, national and global communities. • Nurture each child’s self-esteem, help him/her to develop respect for others and encourage his/her creativity. Pillar #3: We “provide a play based age-appropriate program” when we: • Provide a safe a nurturing environment promotes the physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual growth of each child. • Provide children with ample time for rich sustained, growth-producing learning through play. • Allow the recommendations of the National Association of the Education of Young children (NAEYC), Nevada State Early Childhood Standards and The Pacific Southwest District Lutheran Early Childhood standards to guide our program. • Provide and support the continuing professional growth of our staff. 4 Play Works Curiosity, a natural outflow of each child’s drive to learn, finds its expression through play. Playful learning becomes the vehicle by which the young child finds joy, understands the world around him, creates knowledge about human relationships, and tries out new ideas. Problem solving, curiosity, self-esteem, mathematics, cooperation and endurance all come through the opportunity to play. Play has many types, all of which have value to the growing child. Child-initiated play: This type of play is the foundation of all play. The staff provides the play materials, observes and participates only as needed. Directed play: The teacher helps children play based on something the children have previously experienced. (She/he uses props that allow the children to expand their knowledge based on experience.) Guided play: The teacher prompts play, but allows the children to play with little intervention. (She/he knows that children learn best without intervention. Intervention by a staff member will come only if a child’s developmental needs call for help.) Outdoor physical play: A type of child-initiated play, takes on fresh meaning in the classroom we call the playground. Each one of the types of play is productive and critical in shaping a child. To children their play is their work. We encourage learning and growing opportunities by providing ample time for children to pursue their ideas, to do things their own way, and to imagine what it’s like to be someone else. Variety in toys, textures, and art projects encourages imagination, language, development of motor skills and FUN! This child-centered approach allows each child to control his or her own environment as much as possible and develop a healthy personality. Teachers provide questions, information and materials based on each child’s uniqueness and ability. Early childhood professionals help children by extending their ideas, by involving other people to help them understand the world (this is where you as the parent greatly affect the program), and allowing children to see they have many options available to them. Cooperation, generosity and compassion develop as adults’ exhibit these traits to the children. Opportunities to think occur as children are guided to find their own solutions and figure things out for themselves. Faith Lutheran Preschool allows the natural link between play, development, and learning. These opportunities place play at the center of our curriculum. Play Works! 5 Faith Community Lutheran Church & Schools CORE BELIEFS Core Beliefs. As part of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, we believe and teach that… The entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and that it reveals God’s love and plan of salvation, and His will for our lives. God is Triune, three persons in one eternal God – Father, Son & Holy Spirit. In six days, God wonderfully created all things and declared them good, and He created human beings as the crown of His creation, and He continues to provide all of the earthly and heavenly benefits we receive. Because of the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, we are all sinful by nature, and our sin has separated us from God and places us under His eternal wrath and punishment. Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, came into this world to save us by living a perfect life in our place, by dying on the cross to pay for our sins, and by rising from the dead so we could have eternal life in heaven. Salvation is God’s free gift which is offered at the initiative of His love, not something we can earn. This gift of salvation is offered to all who, by God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit, repent of their sin and receive Jesus in faith as Savior and Lord. The Gospel, the good news of forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus, not only provides salvation, but also the power to change our lives so that they conform to God’s will. The Christian Church consists of those faithful people who rely on Him for forgiveness, who hold firmly to His teachings, and who receive strength and guidance for their Christian lives through regular worship, prayer, Bible study, and the reception of His sacraments. God’s design for marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman, and that parents have the primary responsibility for the spiritual development of their children, and the Church and Schools assist parents with the training, support and encouragement they need to carry out their God given responsibilities. 6 We welcome you to be part of the ministries of Faith Community Lutheran Church and Schools. By stating our core beliefs, our aim is to clarify our beliefs so that we can more effectively work together for the sake of the children, and for the sake of the Kingdom of God. By enrolling your child (ren) in our school(s), you agree to support us in our efforts to teach the children according to these beliefs. General Services The Preschool is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. for full day childcare and full day programs. A half day preschool program is also offered. The half day programs range from 8:15-12:00 am or 8:15-12:00 pm. We provide programs for children ages 2 years through 5 years. A calendar is provided for each school year and posted on our website for holidays and closed days at our preschool. Summer Camp registration begins in April and hours are 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Non-discrimination Policy We do not discriminate, in any way, against a student because of his/her race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of educational policies, admissions policies, athletic, scholarship, and other school administered programs. American with Disabilities Act We do not exclude children with disabilities from our programs unless their presence would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or require a fundamental alteration of the program.